Training helicopter pilots in air rescue services to handle extremely difficult and dangerous maneuvers in all conditions can only safely be done in simulators providing the highest level of realism and fidelity. The new H145 helicopter full-flight simulator at the ADAC HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) Academy in Bonn, Germany, has just been qualified to meet the EASA requirements for a Level D training device – the highest possible certification for synthetic flight training devices.

Powered by Barco FS35 IR projectors, this simulator is the pinnacle of professional helicopter training. The H145 helicopter simulator was “ready for training” January 10, 2018, and is used to train both national and international emergency medical air rescue pilots and crews in civil urban traffic environments and in offshore scenarios.

Night training made even more realistic

After careful evaluation Reiser Simulation and Training GmbH selected system integrator project: syntropy to design and commission the visual display system – a 240 x 80 degree field-of-view (FOV) immersive display that had to meet a number of important requirements. This included the ability to train with Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) where the crew could alternate with having the NVGs on or off – just like in real operations.

At the core of providing realistic NVG training lie the capabilities of the Barco simulation projectors. The Barco projectors were chosen by Reiser after meticulous shoot-outs of six different brands. The unique combination of size, performance and exceptional realistic reproduction of imagery whilst using NVGs were key contributing factors to selecting Barco’s FS35 IR LED projectors for this task. The projectors allows for dual input and individual control of RGB and the IR channel in order to provide the most flexible and realistic scenario for training at dawn, day, dusk and night, which provides the crew with the ability to alternate between training with the NVGs on or off.

project: syntropy was chosen for its extensive experience in research and development efforts in managing blending and black levels of multi-channel projection systems and collaborated closely with Reiser's visual team,Quantum3D and domeprojection.com in delivering a high end system for NVG and night scene training that did not require optical blend masks. It allows training scenarios where the pilot is flying in to the night without any need for a manual change to a night scenario. Real-time control of the projectors' LED profiles was one of the requirements to achieve this feature.

Designed for reliability

“We are very pleased that Reiser again chose Barco’s LED projectors to secure the performance of ADAC HEMS Academy’s helicopter simulators. Barco’s dedicated effort towards designing and building the most reliable and robust projectors for this market are realized in projects like this one. Our mission focuses on strong support of our partners, and we will continue to work hard alongside Reiser and project: syntropy to ensure we always deliver on tomorrow’s training tasks”, says Dave Fluegeman, VP Simulation at Barco.

The EASA qualification is a tangible proof of the system’s excellence, and all partners involved – Reiser Simulation and Training GmbH, project: syntropy, domeprojection.com GmbH, Quantum3D and Barco – are very pleased with this recognition.